The spending plan includes a .5064 or 4.2 percent mill increase in real estate taxes, raising the district's property taxes from 11.8315 mills to 12.3379 mills. The tax increase would cost the owner of a home assessed at the district's average of $160,705 an additional $81.38 per year, bringing next year's total property tax bill to $1,982 on that average home.

Next year's budget is a half-million increase over the current year's $32.2 million and includes a $10 per-capita tax.

Expenditures are divided among instruction at $18,857,182; $10,968,758 for support services; $653,181 for operation of non-instructional services; and $2,290,850 for financing uses. Based on estimated local, state and federal revenue sources totaling $33,646,537, the district anticipates an ending fund balance of $876,566. As a part of next year's budget, the administration is anticipating a $40,000 Learning Block Grant from the Commonwealth, which they intend to apply toward an extended-day kindergarten program. In December, the board had approved a kindergarten center at Jonestown Elementary School to house all the kindergartners in the district. However, the district won't know the final status of the grant until the state budget is passed, according to superintendent Don Bell.

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That unknown variable, along with pending arbitration between the district and the teacher's union regarding paid days off, which could cost the district $600,000, caused a few of the board members to voice concern over approving the budget as it stands.

Director Amy Sell, who along with Rachel England voted 'no' on this budget, said, "I think the thing that's really hard for me is that we're at this point and there are so many unknowns."

It is not that she does not necessarily support a tax increase, she said, adding "I just think to sit in front of the public and say we are raising your taxes when we promised you in January we were going to give you a kindergarten center because we believe in early childhood education, and now we're not sure, is not the right thing to do."

Daniel Martel, board vice president, responded by saying that even if the grant does not go through, plans for the kindergarten center programs will still continue, just not to the extent they had hoped for with grant money. If they don't approve the plan, he said "the whole program goes down because we don't have a budget," unless they come up with something different.

Director Sue Werner, noting that she felt strongly that they would receive the grant said, "This is the best we can do right now."

Sell reiterated her concern that they do not have a plan, asking "$40,000 grant or not – what is our plan?

The process and the planning is where her vote is difficult, said England.

"It feels like by voting 'yes' for this I'm saying I support the way it was done and the way it's going to roll out, and I don't. But, I also consider the kids and what it means by a 'no' vote and what happens as a result of that," England said

Martel told Sell he felt she was confusing the budget process with programs, what they need to do and what they are planning to do in the future.

"We need to know where we're going," English said. "It feels like we're living paycheck to paycheck, but that can be changed."

Werner agreed, saying they made a mistake five or six years ago when they should have been taxing, and they weren't.

Director Glen Gray stated, "I'm not saying that I approve if we have to cut back on the kindergarten center, I'm just saying this is the money we have to spend within that budget - that's the way it's going to go."

Bell expressed his frustration as to what the directors were unclear about, noting they had reviewed and approved the grant process earlier in the year.

Resident Rob Myallis, who has a daughter entering kindergarten in the fall, told the board he believed the anxiety he was hearing during the meeting about uncertainty is being picked up by parents in the community. Some think the kindergarten center might not happen, he said.

The kindergarten center is a "done deal" Martel assured the board. The number of extended sections and the number of students per class are dependent upon what happens with grants and budgets, which is unclear.

"We won't know that until Harrisburg does what Harrisburg is supposed to do," he added. "And that's what been said since we began the budget process in January."